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The third post comes long after the second one. Yes, I know, I should make it into a habit writing in the blog, but habits are consistent behaviors that sunk in one’s schedule. And this one hasn’t. Yet.

Anyway, we are 2 days away from the Superbowl, the big day of advertising, putting the sporty aspect aside. An American national sport event with 112 million viewers, who are mostly connected via mobile devices and social media in general, becomes a celebration for the whole – at least – western world.

As Loren Angelo, GM of Marketing for Audi, wrote to Mashable: “We’ve achieved record levels of awareness and showroom traffic with national consideration numbers showing significant spikes post game”.

These numbers might answer the question why the advertisers are spending the money on these ads, but they miss to mention another point – the viral aspect of a good advertisement.
As mentioned before, with smartphone penetration rate of over 50% in the US, and social media being a standard part of daily life for most Americans, the ads are getting social awareness boost before, during and after the game with hashtags becoming a standard.

I wonder, though, what is the better strategy – rolling the ads before waiting for the game day?

Here are five ads I find intriguing beyond the familiar ones like OldSpice, Pepsi Cola with different presenters, and others. To some I added other spoofs or cultural references.

Here we go:

5. The ETrade Baby
Well, one of the classics, which debuted in 2001: make a baby as presenter for a brand in a category people perceive as – and most times is – complicated and make them think it’s actually quite simple.

And the parody made by College Humor as a warning to be smart with your money:

4. Pepsico-EnAble for the hearing impairedThis is a great example of how to make an image strengthening advertisement: do the opposite of what is expected from you on a commercial break and be silent when all the rest are shouting.

In 2008 Pepsico created awareness for its inclusion of hearing impaired people together with EnAlbe, and aired a silent funny commercial with subtitles. Impressive.

3. Budweiser Wassuuup?!?Regular guys having a regular male conversation (I believe we are deeper than that). And still, this is a hilarious ad which became classic.

Most of us remember the reference on the first Scary Movie, which became a classic as well.

Or the 2008 Obama Campaign assembling the guys 8 years later to examine how they are doing after Bush:

2. Wolkswagen BeetleIn 2011 we saw the teaser in Superbowl. No, you didn’t see the car, but you actually saw a beetle. I think it was refreshing and iconic and conveyed the message of the new Beetle debut. No doubt it’s back.

1. Chrysler – Imported From DetroitThe story of Chrysler is the story of America was these ads’ message. The company tried to coronate itself as the Incumbent Brand in the car manufacturers US category. An Incumbent Brand is a theoretical idea that a brand is historically, culturally and business wise connected with the country of its origin. But I think the story is more suitable for GM.

I actually like the 2 commercials – 2011 with Eminem and 2012 with Clint Eastwood – the same. They differ in the timing and use of social media.
As the US was going towards another economic low, the first ad lifted the spirits of the viewers, even for just 2 minutes. It was such a patriotic ad, a masterpiece of writing, directing and editing.

The second one with Clint Eastwood is as good, but because it’s second, it can’t be in first place. Even so, the use of social media to spread the word was done by Facebook and a hashtag which was visually displayed on a map of the US, where you could see who and where is sharing the message of “It’s Halftime, America”. Very emotional.

The next post will be a conclusion of this year’s best ads.

So, what do you think? Which are your favorite ads from past Superbowls? Is it better to roll the ads before the game or not? Leave your messages and comments below.